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Turing at Princeton
by Drucker, Thomas L. 03 Apr '12

03 Apr '12

The current (4 April 2012) issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly includes two brief articles of interest. W. Barksdale Maynard has an article 'Daybreak of the Digital Age' on Turing at Princeton and Jon R. Edwards (an undergraduate classmate of mine) has a note entitled 'Before Turing, There Was Veblen'. In addition, there's an advertisement for three events: (a) an exhibition at the University Library featuring Turing's dissertation and graduate file, (b) Andrew Hodges' upcoming lecture on St. George's Day, and (c) the conference on Turing's contributions to take place May 10-12. Further information is promised at http://www.princeton.edu/turing/. Thomas Drucker University of Wisconsin-Whitewater druckert(a)uww.edu

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Reply from Paul McJones re Turing's ACE proposal
by Thomas Haigh 03 Apr '12

03 Apr '12

(Forwarded, as the list bounced his message.) From: Paul McJones [mailto:paul@mcjones.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 11:21 AM To: Brian Randell; Thomas Haigh Cc: members(a)sigcis.org Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] "Stored program" -- anyone know origins of the PHRASE This is to confirm that Turing's 1945/6 ACE proposal describes the ideas of stored programs (starting on the very first page) but does not use that terminology. Turing does use the word "storage" extensively, but he refers to "instruction tables" rather than "programs". He demonstrates the use of stored programs with an instruction table called INDEXIN that simulates what we would call an indexed load. He also mentions that various aspects of program preparation (e.g., relocating subroutines) could be done within the machine itself, but for pragmatic reasons suggest it be done externally using punched card machines. For those interested, a scan of the 1972 NPL reprint is available here: http://www.npl.co.uk/turing/pilot-ace-proposal and a scan of the original 1946 report is here: http://www.turingarchive.org/browse.php/C/32 For anyone interested in studying Turing's report I recommend this paper: The other Turing machine B. E. Carpenter and R. W. Doran Computer Journal, Volume 20, Issue 3, Pp. 269-279. http://comjnl.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/3/269.abstract (I learned of the paper by Carpenter and Doran in Brian Randell's The Origins of Digital Computers: Selected Papers.) Paul On Apr 2, 2012, at 1:44 PM, Brian Randell wrote: Hi Tom: Not directly responding to your query, and commenting from memory, rather than having rechecked my sources, my recollection is that the 1945 First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC did not allow operations on stored instructions, but Turing's 1945 proposal for ACE did - to my mind a necessary final step towards the generality that I associate with the stored program computer concept. Cheers Brian On 2 Apr 2012, at 21:34, Thomas Haigh wrote: Hello everyone, I have a query related to a project I am working on concerning the conversion of ENIAC to stored program control in 1948, initially to run the first computerized Monte Carlo calculations. All this took place prior to the first operation of the Manchester Baby. That makes the question of what one means by "stored program" a very interesting one. This question was much discussed in the early days of the history of computing (1970s, early 1980s). I am starting to dig back into primary sources for early use of the phrases "stored program" and "stored program concept" to get a better idea of how these terms were used in the 1940s/early 1950s and what people thought they meant at the time. To clarify, almost everyone who has written about this cites the 1945 "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" as the initial dissemination of the stored program concept although there has been considerable debate as to the source of the ideas contained therein. However that document does not contain the phase "stored program." Or indeed use the word "program" in the body of the text. Or, remarkably, "EDVAC." "Stored" shows up a few times, though less frequently than "remembered." So, ignoring for the moment the relationship of the report to later definitions of the concept, we can agree that it was not the source of the phrase. The most obvious summary of the idea using the report's own terminology would be "remembered instruction device" rather than "stored program computer." I had thought about the 1946 Moore School lectures as a possible vector for the phase "stored program" as well as the concept. The phrase shows up many times in the Moore School lectures book but so far I have spotted it only in the 1980s editorial material rather than in the original lecture summaries. By 1954 "stored program computer" is showing up without explanation or citation required in the description of the IBM 650 published in the inaugural issue of Journal of the ACM. It is not particularly common in the ACM DL material for the rest of the decade ("automatic computer" and "digital computer" are more prevalent) but continues to pop up occasionally. The best the OED can do is 1957, which is even later. So, any thoughts on who came up with this phrase and when? I'm planning to dig deeper in search of early usage, for example into the 1950 "High-Speed Computing Devices" ERA book and some of the other CBI reprints from the 1940s, but it occurred to me that someone on the list might already know the answer to the question. Tom _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] "Stored program" -- anyone know origins of the PHRASE
by Evan Koblentz 03 Apr '12

03 Apr '12

>From Pres Eckert's Tokyo speech (thanks to Thomas Miller for observing this): "My big idea was the idea of the stored instruction sequence or program, using a single fast memory for both data and instruction, with no distinction between registers used for many purposes. At the time I first though of this idea, (in January 1944)..."

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"Stored program" -- anyone know origins of the PHRASE
by Thomas Haigh 03 Apr '12

03 Apr '12

Hello everyone, I have a query related to a project I am working on concerning the conversion of ENIAC to stored program control in 1948, initially to run the first computerized Monte Carlo calculations. All this took place prior to the first operation of the Manchester Baby. That makes the question of what one means by "stored program" a very interesting one. This question was much discussed in the early days of the history of computing (1970s, early 1980s). I am starting to dig back into primary sources for early use of the phrases "stored program" and "stored program concept" to get a better idea of how these terms were used in the 1940s/early 1950s and what people thought they meant at the time. To clarify, almost everyone who has written about this cites the 1945 "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" as the initial dissemination of the stored program concept although there has been considerable debate as to the source of the ideas contained therein. However that document does not contain the phase "stored program." Or indeed use the word "program" in the body of the text. Or, remarkably, "EDVAC." "Stored" shows up a few times, though less frequently than "remembered." So, ignoring for the moment the relationship of the report to later definitions of the concept, we can agree that it was not the source of the phrase. The most obvious summary of the idea using the report's own terminology would be "remembered instruction device" rather than "stored program computer." I had thought about the 1946 Moore School lectures as a possible vector for the phase "stored program" as well as the concept. The phrase shows up many times in the Moore School lectures book but so far I have spotted it only in the 1980s editorial material rather than in the original lecture summaries. By 1954 "stored program computer" is showing up without explanation or citation required in the description of the IBM 650 published in the inaugural issue of Journal of the ACM. It is not particularly common in the ACM DL material for the rest of the decade ("automatic computer" and "digital computer" are more prevalent) but continues to pop up occasionally. The best the OED can do is 1957, which is even later. So, any thoughts on who came up with this phrase and when? I'm planning to dig deeper in search of early usage, for example into the 1950 "High-Speed Computing Devices" ERA book and some of the other CBI reprints from the 1940s, but it occurred to me that someone on the list might already know the answer to the question. Tom

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Bloomberg Blog
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 29 Mar '12

29 Mar '12

Please check the Bloomberg.com “Echoes” blog where SIGCIS chairman, Thomas Haigh, and members David Stearns and myself have a piece at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-29/visions-of-a-cashless-society-echo… Please support this research by visiting the site Thanks Bernardo (Bangor University, Wales) -- ================== Twitter @BatizLazo Technological Innovation in Retail Finance: International Historical Perspectives Edited by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, J. Carles Maixé-Altés, Paul Thomes http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415880671 Home page: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/business/staff/bernardo_batiz-lazo.en.php Working papers: http://ideas.repec.org/e/pba14.html

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New Database - All Information Technology Hardware
by Info ＠ IT History Society 29 Mar '12

29 Mar '12

1,692 down and over 5,000 to go! The IT History Society is pleased to show you the official opening of our Information Technology Hardware Database. The purpose of the database is to provide a single repository, or think of it as an index to access all the Information Technology equipment ever manufactured. Almost 1,700 devices have been entered into the database and we have several thousand to go. We are adding between 40 to 60 new entries per day. By the end of this year or early in 2013, we expect the database to be fairly complete. The database, a work in process, is located http://www.ithistory.org/hardware/hardware-name.php Please take a look; we are confident you will see some old memories. We can also use your help. If you have some hardware memories and experiences that are not in the database, please fill out an online form to submit your entry at http://www.ithistory.org/hardware/hardware-form.php If you too busy to fill out the form, just send us the name of the hardware to: info(a)ithistory.org <file:///C:\Users\David%20G.%20Arscott\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Tempo rary%20Internet%20Files\Content.Outlook\1AHLMSG9\info(a)ithistory.org> . Coming soon will be our new databases for both IT companies and software. Any comments? We would appreciate hearing from you. Please join the IT History Society, if you have not already done so. Membership is free. Tell a friend or associate too. Also, please have your friends join at http://www.ithistory.org/membership/member-form.php The IT History Society is supported by donations from its members. If you wish to donate, please do so at http://www.ithistory.org/about/donate.php Thank you. The IT History Society is committed to supporting the preservation of our Information Technology "Past" as a springboard for and a better understanding of our future. The IT History Society databases are meant to be a 'table of contents' and 'glossary' of where information technology history is located around the world. IT History Society One Blackfield Drive - Suite 331 Tiburon, CA 94920 (415) 435-2263 <mailto:info@ITHistory.org> info(a)ITHistory.org <http://www.ithistory.org/> www.ITHistory.org Sm logo dropEnsuring the Future by Preserving the Past <http://www.twitter.com/ithistoryorg> twitter <http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/It-History-Society/143799552346273> find-us-on-facebook

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FW: CFP : ASIS&T History Fund Awards 2012
by Thomas Haigh 28 Mar '12

28 Mar '12

Could be worth applying for the small awards below. The number of submissions is not always enormous, and SIGCIS members have had some success in the past. Tom -----Original Message----- From: sighfis-l-bounces(a)asis.org [mailto:sighfis-l-bounces@asis.org] On Behalf Of Lai Ma Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:21 PM To: asis-l(a)asis.org; sighfis-l(a)asis.org Subject: [Sighfis-l] CFP : ASIS&T History Fund Awards 2012 The ASIS&T History Fund Advisory Board announces the following two competitive awards for 2012: 1) The ASIS&T History Fund Research Award This award will be for a maximum of $1,000 and will be awarded for the best research support proposal submitted by May 1, 2012. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology may be proposed. The proposal should state: the central topic or question to be researched, qualifications of the researcher (brief vita should be included), a budget, and how the funds will be expended. All funds must be expended by June 30, 2013. Submit proposal to http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/ (choose the "Research Award" category) by May 1, 2012. If an award is made for 2012, the winner will be notified by June 1, 2012. 2) The ASIS&T History Fund Best Paper Award This award will be for a maximum of $500 and will be awarded for the best paper submitted by May 1, 2012. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology will be considered. The paper should not have been previously published or submitted to a journal. The paper should not exceed 30 pages double-spaced, including notes/references, using APA style manual. The ASIS&T History Advisory Board will review all submissions and decide if an award is to be made by June 1, 2012. If an award is made the winner will be expected to present the paper at the 2012 ASIS&T Annual Meeting pre-conference and give first rights of refusal for publication to the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Submit papers to http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/ (choose the "Research Award" category). The ASIS&T History Fund was established by the ASIS&T Board of Directors in June, 2000 for the purposes of supporting and encouraging research and publication in the history of information science and technology. The Fund is supported by donations (including book royalties) from ASIS&T members and others with interest in the history of information science and technology. The Fund Advisory Board encourages further donations from anyone interested in supporting historical study of information science and technology. Members of the ASIS&T History Fund Advisory Board for 2012 are: Kathryn La Barre, Chair Sarah Buchanan, Chair-Elect Julian Warner, Past Chair Michael Buckland Samantha Hastings For further information on submitting a proposal for the grant award or the best paper award for 2012 please contact Lai Ma at lama(a)indiana.edu. _______________________________________________ Sighfis-l mailing list Sighfis-l(a)asis.org http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/sighfis-l

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Sol Rosenthal
by Evan Koblentz 28 Mar '12

28 Mar '12

Sol was in charge of wiring the ENIAC. He died last week. Bill Mauchly interviewed him last year. Here's a snippet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIsn4H25NXo&feature=youtu.be

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Chair and commentator slots for SHOT
by Thomas Haigh 26 Mar '12

26 Mar '12

Hello, It seems likely that SIGCIS will be organizing two panel submissions for this year's SHOT (Copenhagen). One would focus on the early development of information societies, looking at technologies of knowing from a political perspective. Likely participants Giuditta Parolini (statistical tables), Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan (importation of cybernetics to French ethnography) and Ksenia Tatarchenko (Soviet visions of the information society as expressed in computer education). The other is a little less settled, but will probably concern the politics of IT manufacturing in NY State (analog computers), Europe (IBM typewriters) and India (an early personal computer company during an era of protectionism). I'll probably either chair or comment on one session myself, but we'd need at least three other people to volunteer as chair or commentator (give preference for role and session if you have them). Let me know in the next day or two if you are interested. Tom

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"The Hunger Games" Exposes the Myth of Technological Progress
by Marie Hicks 26 Mar '12

26 Mar '12

Hi all, The article that Janet's reporter contact was writing has been posted. Jolie, Eden, Bernie and I all offered input--nice to see a reporter talking to so many historians of technology for perspective! http://www.innovationnewsdaily.com/987-hunger-games-technologies-progress.h… Best, Marie _______________ Marie Hicks, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History of Technology Lewis Department of the Humanities Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL mhicks1(a)iit.edu www.mariehicks.net

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